It took Russell Wilson and Brandon Weeden less than a year to go
from the Senior Bowl to an NFL starting lineup. It took Colin Kaepernick only two
years to go from the Senior Bowl to a starring role in the Super Bowl.

The success of recent Senior Bowl quarterbacks in the NFL has
not gone unnoticed by this year's signal-callers in the game. And in a year
where there are still a number of teams with needs at the position and no clear
front-runner, this week may be more important than ever in establishing a pecking
order for April's draft.

"We had (Andrew) Luck and (Robert) Griffin last year, and it
seems like every year it's been a Matt Ryan or a Sam Bradford," NFL Network
draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "This year, it's wide open.

"People are telling me there are no first-round quarterbacks and
I'm going: By the time this thing's over and we get to April, there's going to
be three or four first-round quarterbacks."

Last year, Weeden climbed into the bottom of the first round
after a solid week in Mobile, going to the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd
pick and immediately taking over their starting job. Wilson, considered a
gamble because of his 5-foot-11 height, lasted until the third round but beat
out free-agent acquisition Matt Flynn in Seattle and led the Seahawks to the
playoffs.

"It's great advertisement for the Senior Bowl for sure," Senior
Bowl executive director Phil Savage said. "It's kind of a statement of where the NFL is.
People are so anxious to find a quarterback and so they're willing to give some
of these young players a chance."

Seeing that type of success from recent Senior Bowl alums, and
knowing that there is no front-runner at the position, this year's Senior Bowl
quarterbacks know a strong week in Mobile can help them move rapidly up the
draft board.

"It's something that has made me work a lot harder," said Zac
Dysert of Miami (Ohio), who is playing for the North team this week. "There's
no clear-cut guy, so it's kind of wide open for anybody. I want to be that
guy."

Dysert and five other quarterbacks in Mobile this week want to
be "that guy," and all have strengths that they're hoping to show off this week
at the Senior Bowl. Dysert, North Carolina State's Mike Glennon, Arkansas'
Tyler Wilson, Oklahoma's Landry Jones, Syracuse's Ryan Nassib and Florida
State's EJ Manuel have all thrown for more than 3,300 yards this year -
Glennon and Jones threw for more than 4,000.

All have come to Mobile with something to prove - even Glennon,
who some already project as a first-rounder.

"It's a big, big week this week for all of us," said Glennon,
the biggest quarterback of the group at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds. "I always wanted
to come here. I have a lot to prove still. There's still a lot left to do."

While Savage called Wilson "the poster boy" for what
quarterbacks can do with a week in Mobile, there are other Senior Bowl alums
whose successes also can serve as a blueprint for this year's group.

For Jones, who played primarily in a spread offense in college
and is looking to prove he can perform under center, there is the success of
Kaepernick, who faced the same questions two years ago coming out of Nevada.

"That's great for the game and definitely comforting to me,"
Jones said of the success of Kaepernick, who will lead the San Francisco 49ers
against Baltimore in the Super Bowl next week.

For Dysert, who is looking to erase any concerns surrounding his
small-school pedigree, there is example of the other Super Bowl starter, Baltimore's
Joe Flacco, who was a first-round pick after playing in the 2008 Senior Bowl.

And, of course, there is another guy who played in a different
game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with whom Dysert is well familiar, Pittsburgh's
Ben Roethlisberger, who grew up 20 minutes away from Dysert's hometown of Ada,
Ohio, and led Miami (Ohio) to a win in the 2003 GMAC Bowl.

For quarterbacks like Nassib, who played at Syracuse for newly
hired Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone and is working out with longtime NFL quarterbacks
coach Paul Hackett, and Wilson, who spent most of his college career playing
for Bobby Petrino, now is the time for the pro-style training they've received
to pay off.

"I feel like my advantage in the whole process is what I've been
through at Arkansas in terms of an offensive philosophy," Wilson said. "I think
externally a lot of people see it as a run-and-gun offense but it was very much
a pro-style. ... The quarterback has the ability to change protections and
redirect and do a lot of things from the line of scrimmage that allows me to
pick up things this week here at the Senior Bowl and I think it'll prepare me
for down the road."

"The competition's fierce here," Nassib added. "It's definitely
different than last year because it was obvious, (Luck and Griffin) were way
above everybody else. But the events like the Senior Bowl, the combine and your
pro day, you've really got to take advantage of those times to set yourself
apart."

Miami (Ohio) QB Zac DysertMiami (Ohio) quarterback Zac Dysert talks about being invited to the Senior Bowl and the "blessing" of being compared to Ben Roethlisberger.